Temporary “do not swim” notices have been placed at two north Co Dublin beaches after water sampling indicated increased levels of bacteria.
Fingal County Council has placed the bathing prohibitions at Balbriggan Front Strand and Rush South, where water quality issues are suspected to have arisen due to urban and agricultural run-off following recent heavy rain.
It said further samples were taken from Balbriggan Front Strand on Wednesday “given early warning high E.Coli levels” and the results are due to come back on Friday. Similar samples from Rush South and Portrane are due back on Saturday.
“Front Strand Balbriggan and Rush North Beach remain open but beach users are asked to respect the ‘do not swim’ notices as they have been put in place to ensure that the health of bathers is not compromised,” the council said in a statement posted on its website.
It added that all other identified bathing waters in the area met the standard for ‘excellent’ quality.
Water quality reports are available on the EPA website www.beaches.ie and are displayed on notice boards at the entrance to each of Fingal beaches.
